Afflicted
by gloss my eyes
Summary: Yusuke needs Kurama's help; Kurama needs help in general. Yus/Ku (eventually). Rating may go up.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I am up to no good...oh wait, no, I just don't own YYH.

Warnings: some crappy writing, Yusuke's big fat mouth...that's about it for now.

As requested by **alexkitkat**.

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"Keiko and I are getting married."

Yusuke sprung this on him so nonchalantly between bites of food, like they were discussing the weather, that Kurama found himself chuckling in spite of the hollow ache in his chest. He smiled at the man seated across from him in the small green booth they shared at Kurama's favorite diner. They'd been coming here frequently ever since Yusuke returned from the Makai about a month ago and were sharing a late lunch today, Yusuke a burger with fries and Kurama a garden salad.

"Congratulations," the redhead said. "Am I to assume that I'm invited to the blessed event?"

Yusuke scowled at him, grease from his juicy burger dripping down his chin in thin streaks. "Well yeah, but don't say it like that."

"Like what?" asked the fox guilelessly, emerald eyes set wide upon his face. His long fingers twitched with the urge to reach across the white table with a napkin and wipe the mess away from his friend's face, but instead he began to fork at his meager salad with no real intention of eating it.

"All girly and shit. 'Blessed event,' my ass."

"Are you implying that you aren't excited for your own wedding, Yusuke? How crass." He kept his tone light, teasing the man. He may have pushed it a bit too far, though; the half-demon had just bit into his burger again and nearly choked to protest Kurama's accusation.

After a fit of frantic coughs, the ex-detective gulped down mouthfuls of water and shot a glare in the direction of one wry kitsune.

"You know that's not what I mean," he stated hoarsely, finally swiping at his face with a napkin.

His voice grew uncharacteristically soft when he next spoke, a testament to his devotion. "I want it to be perfect, Kurama. It has to be. She deserves perfection."

Kurama ceased stabbing at the limp lettuce on his plate to regard Yusuke knowingly, instantly understanding the direction this conversation was headed.

To his credit, Yusuke had the decency to appear sheepish when he asked, "would you mind helping me out? I kinda told her _I'd_ do all the planning so she wouldn't have to lift a finger. Besides picking out the dress, obviously."

"So, naturally, your first instinct is to drag me into it," he sighed. The redhead leaned forward against the table ever so slightly, a serious frown painting his lips. "And she believed you to be capable of this?"

A faint tinge of pink dusted the man's cheeks. "No, not exactly...She told me I should probably ask you for help. You've got 'style', or something. Plus, your mom got married not long ago, right?" He ran a hand through his slicked back hair, tacking on as an afterthought, "she must have made you help out at least a little, _Shuichi_."

" _You_ must have taken one too many blows to the head, my friend," Kurama countered, feigning concern. "My mother remarried a few years ago."

"Oh yeah, that's right. My bad."

A silence between the men settled in then; Yusuke resumed barbarically wolfing down his burger, and Kurama internally debated how to appropriately answer Yusuke's question whilst eating his salad.

On one hand, the thought of spending more time with the other man proved tempting. Kurama had stopped denying his feelings for Yusuke, at least to himself, a long time ago. The seedling for said feelings had taken root within his heart during their third encounter, when Yusuke had unwittingly saved the life of his mother and his own, and had been blossoming ever since. Kurama had fallen in love with him at some point; this much was certain.

Therein lied the problem, though: spending time with Yusuke was nice. The idea of spending time with Yusuke to assist him in planning Keiko's dream wedding, however, did not hold the same appeal. A master of self-control, he called himself, but every creature had their limits.

"Kurama?" came Yusuke's wary voice, interrupting his inner musings, "you're gonna break the plate if you keep hitting it like that."

The fox froze at once, mid-stab, not realizing the force he had been using to fork his salad into his mouth. Looking around, it seemed that others had noticed his bizarre table manners as well, and they averted their gazes politely once his eyes passed over them.

"I apologize," he said quickly, offering up a forced smile. "I've been working long hours at my stepfather's company, and haven't gotten much sleep." It was a weak explanation but Yusuke nodded regardless, sympathetic.

"I'm not trying to add more to your plate, no pun intended, but I really, _really_ need you on this, man. I don't know a thing about flowers or suits, the only thing I know about cake is that it tastes good, and there's so many fucking decisions I have to make that I don't even know where to start." His impassioned speech ended with a tiny quiver of his bottom lip, a pout if Kurama had ever seen one. Brown eyes were fixed on him intently, as if he could stare him into compliancy.

Kurama left his friend hanging for a moment or two longer before unhappily relenting. "Fine. You win, Yusuke."

The brilliant, toothy grin the man rewarded him with made the tight pain in his chest _almost_ worth it.

" _Thank_ you. God, I could kiss you right now, this is _awesome_!"

While the descendant of Raizen celebrated his victory by catching the attention of their waitress and ordering himself a slice of chocolate pie, Kurama quietly lamented. He should have known there'd be an ulterior explanation for Yusuke's sudden desire to see him all the time, though foolishly the fox had hoped it meant they were becoming close. Realistically, he supposed that the man was just building up the courage to pester him with such an important request.

The waitress swiftly brought Yusuke his dessert, then turned her attention towards the redhead with a flirty smile. "Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?" She was young with brown eyes and had long, silky black hair tied away from her pretty heart-shaped face; her voluptuous curves filled out her uniform well even underneath her dark apron. Earlier, when she'd taken down their initial orders, Kurama had noticed Yusuke blatantly ogling her well-endowed chest.

Perhaps out of bitter spite, the redhead fluttered his thick lashes at her and smiled charmingly, a move that enflamed her cheeks and had her fidgeting with her pen nervously. "No miss, I'm all set. But thank you, you've been a very gracious hostess," Kurama said with earnest. He could smell her sweat-glands kicking into overdrive, and faintly, arousal, thanks to a perk of being a demon soul trapped in a human shell: an enhanced sense of smell.

"W-will you be paying separately, or together?" She stuttered, another tell-tale sign he had her flustered. Although his eyes were on her, his peripheral vision allowed him to witness a strange look marring his friend's features. "Together, please," he purred, making sure to keep eye contact with her and flicking stray ribbons of his crimson hair over his shoulder.

Her head bobbed in a quick nod and she scribbled something down on the bill before handing it over to him; beneath his total she had included her phone number along with the name 'Kimiko.'

After turning his gaze back to Yusuke once she walked away to check on her other customers, Kurama was met with a mildly suspicious expression.

"What's the matter, Yusuke? You look perturbed."

The man shook his head slowly, dark eyebrows knit together, struggling to find the right words. "...I don't know, man. I guess I've just never seen you flirt with someone before. You're pretty good at it." The frown on the hanyou's face suggested he had something else to say, so Kurama waited patiently, red brows raised questioningly.

Only Yusuke didn't continue or even eat his pie, rather he just stared at the fox with that same odd look that even Kurama, after more than one-thousand years of living, could not place.

"What is it?" he prompted with a subtle edge of annoyance, beginning to lose his patience. Yusuke normally never really irritated him this way, but their previous subject admittedly had him a bit grumpy.

Finally, the dark-haired man dropped his eyes to the table and mumbled, "just forget about it, it's nothing." He then proceeded to dig into his dessert, content to drop the conversation entirely.

They finished their meal quietly, neither demon speaking another word. Yusuke appeared uncomfortable, much to Kurama's confusion, but he had the sense that he shouldn't bring it up again. When the time came to pay the bill, the fox took it up to the register and paid without a fuss. This was routine, no matter how much the other man protested, but today Yusuke strangely had no complaints.

The two exited the diner together, walking aimlessly along the city sidewalk. Kurama headed in the direction of his apartment, which was nestled only a few short blocks from the diner.

Yusuke, like before, seemed to want to speak, parting his pink lips often during their walk. It wasn't until they reached the entrance of Kurama's apartment complex that he did, in a hopeful tone. "Lunch tomorrow, same time?"

Kurama allowed himself a friendly smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Of course. I'll think of a planning schedule that will work around my job. Not all of us can make our own hours," he teased, referring to Yusuke's newly opened ramen stand.

The man had wisely decided upon returning to Ningenkai that he needed some viable source of income, aside from the fortune inherited from the late Raizen (which was absolutely useless in Ningenkai) and whatever compensation Koenma had given him from his days as a spirit detective (if anything; Kurama couldn't be sure). According to the hanyou, his business was doing well. Or well enough, at the very least.

"Someone sounds jealous," Yusuke joked, tapping him on the shoulder with a clenched fist. "Get some good rest tonight, man. Do you gotta work tomorrow?"

"No, I wouldn't have agreed to go to lunch with you otherwise."

Yusuke scratched the back of his head cheekily. "Right, duh..."

"Was there something else?" the redhead asked, head cocking slightly to the side curiously. The dark-haired man normally didn't linger like this, scuffing his sneakers against the sidewalk and watching himself do it with interest.

His blue jeans fit especially snug today, and he wore a plain white shirt with a teal blazer. He looked handsome and nervous, like someone trying to ask out the girl he liked.

"No, I just don't really feel like going home just yet..." He trailed off, brown flicking up from the ground to meet green. Then down went brown again, drinking in the fox's attire: beginning with his black loafers, then traveling up his jean clad legs to his narrow waist, admiring the black belt circling it (or a little below the belt, perhaps).

Kurama said his name before Yusuke could ogle at his upper body, which was covered in a thin, long sleeved green shirt that clung to his torso; the man jumped as if struck and turned around, attempting to hide his blush.

"Never mind. I should go, see ya."

"Never mind...?" said the fox, but Yusuke had already sprinted away.

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A/N:

Hey! So I don't know guys, I wasn't super happy with this but put it up anyway (cuz I'm an idiot). I definitely love these two together, and I definitely have a faint idea about where this is going, but who knows with my crazy mind. I don't really plan things, I just write. It makes itself up as I go. Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

_He said yes._

 _I'm such an idiot though, gawking at him like he's some piece of smoking meat on a stick._

 _Stop being such a girl, damn it. Get a friggen grip. He's just your friend. He can flirt with anyone he wants to._

Thoughts like those stalked Yusuke down the streets of the city, headed towards his mother's apartment. If the Toushin had his days correct, Keiko would be seated on his couch right then, chatting with Atsuko while they waited for him to return from his outing.

The very idea of the girl froze him mid-step however, and he fought the urge to turn back and run the other way. He had already told Kurama goodbye for the day, as the fox had said he was tired. Best to just leave him alone, especially after Yusuke made such an idiot of himself the whole time.

So instead, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and trudged in the direction of his favorite local park that he had practically lived in as an adolescent.

Filled with happy, laughing children on the playground and chirping birds in the trees, Yusuke felt very out of place occupying a weathered park bench in the shade of a tall oak tree and brooding with a cigarette dangling between his frowning lips.

The smoke, while toxic, calmed him to a certain extent. It filled his lungs heavy and hot until he could hardly stand it, expelling the fumes in a fit of coughs. This attracted the disapproving gaze of some parents and walkers, but they all left him to his thoughts without a so much as a second glance when he flashed them a hardened, albeit harmless, glare.

He swallowed down a wry smile, thinking of the old days.

Ningenkai, after everything he'd been through, still felt like home to him. Some days he missed the roughness of Demon World, the acrid taste of power thick in the air, but on days like today, sunny and breezy and just plain beautiful, Yusuke appreciated the very thing he'd been trying to leave behind. Upon returning he had expected that old feeling of mundaneness to creep back up on him, but it had yet to show it's ugly face.

Rather, he felt nearly at ease, at peace, like everything was how it should be. He had his friends, his mother was faring better, and for the first time in his life he felt like he belonged here on Earth. Keiko had even agreed to marry him.

Inhaling the smoke again, Yusuke considered that he really should just be happy.

Something, however, had changed.

Like most things, it had taken him awhile to notice it. But there it was today, a strange sensation in the pit of his gut, a storm of butterflies fluttering against his insides that had him blushing, stumbling with his words, even acting _jealous_. Jealous over nothing. Over a simple human girl that he himself had ogled not long before.

It irked him.

Kurama was attractive, yes. Stunningly so. Even in the simplest attire the kitsune oozed beauty like sex on legs.

His garnet hair had grown long, a crimson waterfall that cascaded down to his waist in smooth tresses, his too-green eyes were framed thickly with dark, curved lashes that any girl would kill for (according to Botan), and his sun-kissed skin was soft like silk to the touch and radiated health without a single blemish.

He'd always been attractive, and Yusuke had always quietly acknowledged that. Hell, even Kuwabara had mentioned a few times, on drunken nights, that he found Kurama to be pretty.

It had never been a problem before. He'd never even thought twice about it.

Lately though, it was _all_ he could think about.

Cunning, deadly, _breathtaking_ Kurama. Yusuke couldn't stop seeing the way his nose crinkled when he smiled, or hearing the twinkling laugh that graced Yusuke's ears like peals of music when he particularly amused the fox. Or the warm, fond way that Kurama looked at him sometimes, especially when he didn't think Yusuke would notice.

All that was why, instead of being at home relaxing on the couch with a beer and his favorite girl at his side, Yusuke was sitting alone in a park smoking a cigarette that he swore would be his last.

He heaved a sigh of smoke after taking one last puff, throwing the half-smoked stick to the ground and snuffing it out with his shoe.

 _I need to stop this shit_ , he thought, running a hand through his slicked back hair. Stop what, the cigarettes or the Kurama-laced thoughts, Yusuke wasn't sure of.

Twenty minutes later, Yusuke reluctantly sauntered through the door of his mother's apartment, kicking off his shoes in entryway. Like he had assumed, Keiko was seated on the center cushion of a tattered beige couch, jean clad legs crossed. A book was perched on her lap, and her warm brown eyes were engrossed in the text.

They jumped to attention, however, when Yusuke closed the door behind him with a soft thud.

"Oh! You're home." When their eyes met her cute lips quirked into a small pout, however her overall expression betrayed her fondness for him."You're late, you know."

Yusuke donned a sheepish grin, moving to claim the seat to her left.

"I'm always late, Keiko. Where's my mom?" He slung an arm around the girl's narrow shoulders to pull her in closer. The faint aroma of apple-scented shampoo greeted him as he kissed the halo of light casted upon her long hair, attempting to ease away some of the guilt from his earlier thoughts.

"If you're late to our wedding, I'll kill you," she deadpanned, melting into his uncharacteristically affectionate touch despite herself. "Atsuko was here to let me in but left about a half-hour ago to go grocery shopping."

Yusuke cringed involuntary, the mention of 'grocery shopping' triggering some unpleasant adolescent memories. Atsuko's version of grocery shopping, only a few years ago, had been spending all of their money on booze, weed, and cigarettes.

Keiko's hand reached to squeeze his in an act of comfort. "I'm sure she's fine, Yusuke. Things have gotten a lot better. How did your lunch with Kurama go?"

The man appreciated the change of subject but the feeling withered at the mention of the fox's name. Still, he kept his facial features smooth, shoulders shrugging in a very nonchalant way.

"He said he would help me out. We're going over details tomorrow."

Keiko smiled at him, obviously pleased. But before she could mention it again, Yusuke leaned in quick to steal a kiss, effectively ending the conversation. Her lips were soft and warm underneath his, and the moment they parted for his tongue all thoughts of crimson hair and jade eyes were banished to some dark corner of his mind where they belonged.

They kissed for a few moments longer before she inevitably pulled away, a splash of red coloring her cheeks. "We shouldn't get too caught up," she said a bit breathlessly, "Atsuko could come home at any moment."

The Toushin leaned back against the couch with a huff of disappointment but ultimately agreed, nodding once complacently. He didn't expect it to get very far anyway; the girl had assured him that she was saving herself for marriage and no amount of begging would change that.

Not that Yusuke had been begging. In fact he'd hardly touched her since he returned, save for a kiss like the one they just shared here and there. He didn't take the time to dwell on it though, rubbing at her shoulder with the hand that still rested there.

"We should go out tonight," he suggested, fond of the way her eyes lit up in excitement.

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's go see a movie or something. We can catch dinner after."

She leaned back to kiss him again once, bubbling with happy laughter. "That sounds nice!" She paused then, holding a finger to her lips in consideration. "I can't stay out too late, though. I have class in the morning. Walk me to my house so I can get ready?"

He agreed without a second thought. They got to the Yukimura's house some odd amount minutes later, and Yusuke waited patiently for the girl to preen herself for their evening out, chatting with her father over their upcoming nuptials.

Once she descended the stairs looking very pretty in a casual red sundress lined at the hems with white lace, they headed out to the local theater.

The rest of the night flew by, even though Keiko picked some sappy romance movie for them sit through. He held her hand nearly the whole time, didn't laugh at her when she cried during the film's tragic scenes, and bought them a large bucket of popcorn and a drink to share.

Dinner was eaten at a moderately priced restaurant. Over the course of the meal he took the time to appreciate all the things he loved about her - the way she spoke with her hands as well as her voice, how often she smiled at him, the glimmer in her light brown eyes while she laughed at his stupid jokes. Keiko, in only a few hours, had completely erased any odd feelings he'd felt earlier that afternoon.

Those feelings didn't return until, after dropping her off safely at her place around ten, Yusuke caught a whiff of wild roses on his way home.

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 **A/N:**

So, here we have a peek into Yusuke's head! This chapter was pretty uneventful but it should pick up from here, I hope.

A big shout out to those of you who commented and followed/faved! It means the world to me. Also, for those of you who are interested, I have a Hiei/Kurama twoshot up called Bare.

Until next time!


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